Costa Rica

1
Costa Rica

• Education Policies and Principles

2
General Facts

• Costa Rica places high emphasis on education.
• First country to abolish its military and
  redirect the military budget towards education
  and social programs.
• Strong history of school support.
• Constitutional mandate for free public school
  since 1869.
• Support for secondary school expanded in the
  1940s.
• State supported university founded in the 1940s.
• Expansion of public and private university
  education after 1980.
• Statistics from February of 2007 report a 97
  literacy rate for Costa Rica.
• Education is mandatory until sixth grade, but
  highly encouraged and available for free for
  seventh through twelfth grade.

3
Challenges

• Mandatory education ends to early to ensure
  competitiveness in global markets. Encouragement
  is needed to prompt more students to continue
  education past the sixth grade level.
• The quality of education still needs to be
  expanded or updated in rural areas.
• University education is still not often available
  to lower socioeconomic individualsprivate
  university education is for the rich.
• Education improvements are highly dependent upon
  the support of transnational corporations.

4
Ministry of Education

• Pre-school Education
• Mandatory for ages 5 or 6.
• Basic General Education
• Cycle 1 1st thru 4th grades - compulsory.
• Cycle 2 5th and 6th grades - compulsory.
• Cycle 3 7th thru 9th grades.
• Cycle 4 10th thru 12th grades.
• Mandatory Testing
• Testing is mandatory for the 6th grade diploma
  and the ability to move to cycle 3.
• Testing is required for a 12th grade diploma.
• University Education

5
Language Policies

• Costa Rican Children, Citizens of a Modern and
  Integrated World
• Created by the MEP in 1994
• Introduced Foreign Language at the Elementary
  Level
• Interactive Learning through Radio
• Created in 1997
• Provided English Radio Instruction to Rural Areas
• Financed with help from World Bank, UNESCO, and
  the Ministry of Public Education
• LEARN
• Created English curriculum with British help

6
Education All Educative Policy towards Century
XXI

• The policy focuses on four specific challenges,
  known as four axes of sustainable development.
• Environmental Sustainability.
• Sustainability of the Human Resource.
• Social and Political Sustainability.
• Economic and Productive Sustainability.

7
Gender Equality

• 1990 Act for Promoting the Social Equality of
  Women
• Required equal opportunities for men and women,
  not only in content, but in quality
• Gender Inequality Still Exists
• Women steered towards social sciences and health
  in the education system
• Machismo
• Very low female participation in science and
  technology
• Pay gap
• Beginnings of Change
• SINETEC The National Technical Education System
• PEG-ITCR Gender Equity Program of the
  Technological Institute of Costa Rica
• Women in faculty roles in the universities

8
Fundacion Omar Dengo

• The Omar Dengo Foundation, established in 1987,
  is a non- profit institution that develops
  programs in areas such as human development,
  education initiatives and the incorporation of
  new technology into school and work settings.
  Its varied projects have benefited more than one
  and a half million Costa Ricans, among whom are
  young and adolescent students, educators, members
  of communities, and senior citizens.
• Liaison and cooperative force between the MEP and
  transnational corporations.
• Named the managerial body for the National
  Program for Educational Informatics.
• Emphasis on informational and digital technology.

9
Support of Transnational's

• Intel Computer Clubhouse, science fairs,
  robotics, intensive teacher training and support,
  donations of IT hardware and software, science
  lab materials and critical thinking enhancement
  programs.
• Citigroup Financial education Banks in Action
  program, marketing programs, economic leadership
  and entrepreneur programs, resource management
  programs, tourism development programs, programs
  to promote higher education attainment,
  sustainable forestry and agriculture programs.
• Microsoft Partners in Leaning program to
  facilitate computer literacy.
• Donates materials and teacher training
  certification from the rural primary level to the
  university level.
• Proctor and Gamble Live, Learn, Thrive program.
• Primary education goals aimed at raising the
  quality of life for children.
• Eaton Adult and student education is
  sustainable development.

10
Higher Education and Neoliberalism

• There are 4 public universities and 50 private
  profit-seeking universities in Costa Rica with
  differences in philosophies.
• Financial Aid
• Public School scholarships
• CONAPE Loan program through the International
  Development Bank
• Socioeconomic disadvantage
• Neoliberalism
• TNCs demand skilled workers to compete in global
  market
• Private universities cater to market economy

11
Closing Statements

• Costa Rica is
• Peaceful, productive country
• Anomaly in Central America
• Part of global society
• Linked by neo-liberal policies